“Lawmen: Bass Reeves” Isn’t A Spinoff Of “1883” After All. Here’s Why.

Creator, showrunner, and co-executive producer Chad Feehan explains his decision to depart the “Yellowstone” universe

Despite reporting to the contrary, Taylor Sheridan’s buzzy new series isn’t a spinoff of 1883 after all.

Creator, showrunner, and co-executive producer Chad Feehan told TV Insider that though he had the option to connect Lawmen: Bass Reeves to the Yellowstone universe, he ultimately chose not to.

“There [were] conversations about a tie into 1883 before I was hired, and when I was hired I was given the freedom to craft the most compelling story that I could alongside the other writers,” Feehan explained. “I was given the opportunity, if there was a place to tie it to 1883, that was OK, but there was no obligation to do so. And so, we landed where we landed, which was our story takes place from roughly 1862 to 1877. And Bass primarily operates in [Native American] territory, which is modern day Oklahoma and Fort Smith, Arkansas. And so it didn’t feel natural or organic to bring in any of the 1883 characters to the story.”

Lawmen: Bass Reeves stars David Oyelowo as the show’s title character. Additional cast members include Barry Pepper, Dennis Quaid, Garrett Hedlund, Donald Sutherland, Mo Brings Plenty, Forrest Goodluck, Lauren E. Banks, and Grantham Coleman.

Per its official logline, the eight-episode Lawmen: Bass Reeves “will bring the legendary lawman of the wild west to life. Reeves, known as the greatest frontier hero in American history, worked in the post-Reconstruction era as a federal peace officer in the Indian Territory, capturing over 3,000 of the most dangerous criminals without ever being wounded. The weight of the badge was heavy, and he wrestled with its moral and spiritual cost to his beloved family.”

While the show ends around 1877, the real Reeves actually died in January 1910. Feehan told TV Insider that the altered timeline “was a product of the breadth that we had to work with [in] eight hours. It was also driven by crafting, again, the most compelling narrative with these similar moments of his life.”

The period drama, originally slated as a standalone series for Paramount+, shifted to an anthology format in April. Subsequent seasons will reportedly follow other legendary lawmen throughout history.

Lawmen: Bass Reeves will debut with its first two episodes on November 5 on Paramount+.

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